Exeter having already won the Bremridge Cup by beating home & away the other two teams, Exmouth and Newton Abbot, these were left “playing for peanuts” as the Tournament Secretary put it. However, this proved more difficult than usual. On the first occasion, Newton Abbot couldn’t raise a team for their away leg and the match was postponed until 28th April. For their home leg, it was Exmouth that couldn’t raise a team, but it was too late in the season for a postponement, so that was declared “unplayed”.

In an effort to infuse a small element of significance to the match it was felt the teams could be fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. And so the games were played slowly and seriously. The first point went to the visitors in the shape of Vignesh Ramesh who overcame a 22 point deficit to beat his experienced opponent. Then nothing happened for some time, when four games seemed to finish in a flurry. John Stephens exploited his extra pawn in a R&P ending, got it to the 7th rank and Black could do nothing about it.

Underwood’s and Hampton’s games also finished at this time with wins for the home team. Meanwhile, Walter Braun was struggling to defend his position a piece down, Steve Homer, who, being the player he is, was never going to let up.

With the score at 3-2 it was left to Brian Gosling and Josh Blackmore to finish things off. They were down to a black-square bishop each and a sprinkling of pawns. The game went on for some time long after the other players had gone. Blackmore was making all his moves in the last 5 seconds of each incremental 30 seconds, but Gosling managed to retain a very slight edge, and chipped away at the pawns. There was a moment when Blackmore might have been able to sacrifice his bishop for his opponent’s last pawn to leave a draw, but the chance passed, and Gosling was able to mop up pawns on his was to a win, leaving the final score 4-2 and the Wooden Spoon was avoided.

Bremridge Cup (Div. 1) 28.04.2018.

EXMOUTH

Grd

NEWTON ABBOT

Grd

1

Dr. W. Braun

203

0

1

S. J. Homer

181

2

Dr. J. Underwood

192

1

0

P. Brooks

170

3

J. K. F. Stephens

189

1

0

T. F. Thynne

170

4

S. Martin

186

0

1

V. Ramesh

164

5

P. G. Hampton

172

1

0

C. V. Howard

154

6

B. G. E. Gosling

160

1

0

J. Blackmore

147

1,102

4

2

986

Walter Braun vs Steve Homer (Bd.1)

Bd. 2: Paul Brooks vs Jonathan Underwood

Charlie Howard makes a move against Paul Hampton on Bd. 5

Josh Blackmore vs Brian Gosling on Bd. 6 last to finish after a tight endgame.

left: John Stephens vs Trefor Thynne with Steve Martin in view on right.

Saturday was the defining day for this year’s destination of the Bremridge Cup, when Exeter were due to travel to neigbours Exmouth for their return match. Exmouth needed a win to retain any hope of wresting the cup from Exeter’s grasp, while a draw would be enough for Exeter to retain the trophy.

With this in mind, Exeter drafted in Exeter University student Lorenz Hartmann to beef up their team list, while Exmouth were able to field former local hero John Stephens. Unfortunately, this was offset by having three “unavailables”, but even so, the home team were slightly stronger on paper.

Things started badly for Exmouth, when Dave Regis was able to take full and immediate advantage of his opponent’s opening plan which left his king marooned in the centre and unable to move left or right to avoid the on-coming storm. 0-1

Boards 3, 4, & 5 were more cautious affairs all players keen not to miss any lurking dangers, and draws were agreed.

This left the top two games to settle matters. There was a distinctly continental flavour about Bd. 2 in which Hartmann, over from Germany doing in doctorate in Maths (in Game Theory, wouldn’t you know it!) was playing Viennese FIDE Master Walter Braun, currently enjoying his second period of residence in Exmouth. However, a slight slip in his early mid-game calculations enabled Hartmann to get a central pawn storm going, which proved impossible to resist. This was the win that clinched the title.

Which meant that Exeter team captain, Graham Bolt, didn’t need to worry too much about the way his own game was going. After Stephens had established 2 connected queenside pawns, he swapped off material whenever possible, increasing those pawns’ significance all the time until they were impossible to resist. It was consolation for Exmouth, but not quite enough.

Dave Adams’s old Scottish grade has not yet been integrated with his new ECF one. Also, Susan Selley’s first grade is 89 RapidPlay, and will doubtless need a few more games before it rises to its rightful level.

Exmouth Chess Club got their new season off to their traditional start of the dreaded Buzzer Tournament. Key to the whole event is the battery-powered, home-made device that emits an unmistakable, unmissable warbling buzz every 10 seconds. Whoever’s move it is must move immediately the buzzer sounds, after which the opponent has 10 seconds thinking time.

It never fails to amaze and amuse, the extent to which those 10 seconds seem to vary, from the time one is playing the 1st 6 moves of one’s favourite opening to the final 6 moves or so, when fending off an attack that seems to come from all directions. They’re not the same thing at all.

In spite of the dreaded prospect of a whole evening of this mode of torture, 11 members were keen to get stuck in. In spite of the disparity in grades, the six lowest-graded players all beat someone of a higher grade, and all the top players lost a game, with the exception of FIDE Master Walter Braun, and even he dropped a half point before he got up a head of steam.

If there has been a more concentrated and closely contested climax to a season, I don’t recall it.

Four matches, four victories and two trophies in 12 days represents as rich a reward as anyone at the club could reasonably expect.

Let’s start on Saturday 22nd April in the Mamhead Cup, Devon’s Division 2. With one match to play, Exmouth and Newton Abbot were joint leaders on match points, but Exmouth having scored a half point more in games. So Exmouth simply did not have to score less points against the final opponents, Teignmouth, than Newton Abbot did against Barnstaple. As Newton Abbot did win their match 3.5 – o.5, Exmouth had to beat Teignmouth by at least the same score …. or more – a big ask. But they equalled Newton Abbot’s winning margin, so winning the Mamhead Cup by half a game point.

Exmouth

Teignmouth

1

O. E. Wensley

168

½

½

W. H. Ingham

162

2

M. Shaw

163

1

0

Rev. C. Doidge

124

3

C. J. Scott

151

1

0

N. F. Tidy

122

4

M. Belt

127

1

0

A. Webster

82

609

3½

½

490

Three days later, on Tuesday 25th April, there was an away match against Exeter in the E. Devon RapidPlay League. This turned out to be not quite as close a match as the previous one, thus winning that league, and a second trophy in 4 days. (Photos below)

Exeter & Dist. League – RapidPlay League Div. 1 25.04.2017.

Exeter

Rd 1

Rd 2

Exmouth

Rd 1

Rd 2

1

S. Pope

149

½

½

C. J. Scott

151

½

½

2

R. Whittington

136

1

1

A. Dean

141

0

0

3

R. Player

114

0

0

Dr. M. Marshall

140

1

1

4

Dr. J. Maloney

96

0

0

R. H. Jones

135

1

1

3

5

The following Saturday, Exmouth entertained Newton Abbot in the final round of the Bremridge Cup, Devon’s Division 1. There was no trophy at stake this time as Exeter had already secured overall victory by virtue of their narrow win over Exmouth earlier in the year, but nevertheless rivalry is always keen. Both teams were without 2 top players, but the six pairings looked to favour the home side.

However, at the halfway point, Exmouth went 1-0 down, and had no discernable advantage in the other 5 games, so it was backs-to-the-wall time for sure. Oliver Wensley went right down to K+P vs K but his king was in front of his pawn and the opposing king was not inclined to allow him the freedom to move aside, so game drawn. Then rather suddenly, the other four games, in spite of their closeness throughout, all went Exmouth’s way, leaving the final score 4.5 – 1.5, certainly a scoreline that belies the actual play.

DCCA – Div. 1 Bremridge Cup 29.04.2017.

Exmouth

grd

Newton Abbot

grd

1

W. Braun

195

1

0

P. Brooks

185

2

S. Martin

185

0

1

A. W. Brusey

169

3

P. D. Hampton

166

1

0

V. Ramesh

139

4

M. V. Abbott

176

1

0

A. Kinder

125

5

O. E. Wensley

168

½

½

C. V. Howard

143

6

C. J. Scott

152

1

0

J. E. Allen

145

1043

4½

1½

910

Exmouth vs Newton Abbot: A study in collective concentration.

Bd. 1: Paul Brooks vs Walter Braun.

Bds 3 & 4: Ramesh vs Hampton & Abbott vs Kinder.

Bds 5 & 6: Howard vs Wensley & Scott vs Allen.

This was closely followed by another home match on Wednesday night, against Exeter in the E. Devon League Div. 1. This time the odds seemed to favour the visitors, with Barbara Newcombe, a newcomer this season to OTB chess, playing her first 1st team match for the Club. Her draw against the experienced Will Marjoram, in the face of a 40 point difference in their grades, seemed to inspire the others, the home side running out 3.5 – 0.5 winners.

So the situation is that, with only 3 teams involved, Exmouth have lost to Seaton but beaten Exeter, who play Seaton next week. If Exeter win that match it could be 3-way tie situation – unless complicated tie-breaks come into play. Who knows, a third trophy might come our way, but no-one here’s holding their breath on that one.

The current Devon Champions, Exmouth, hosted local rivals, Exeter, in a match on Saturday that would not only confer local bragging rights but probably determine who would win this year’s Devon club championship.

The omens were not good for the hosts, as Exeter were able to field their strongest team, probably one of the strongest sides seen for many a decade, while Exmouth were under par, conceding c. 16 points per board over Bds 3 – 6 – a big ask. However, the match proved to be a truly titanic struggle as each game came to an end.

First of all, Exeter’s captain, Graham Bolt, won the toss yet chose to give their opponents White on top board. That was the first to finish, when O’Neill came unstuck and resigned, and put Exmouth 1-0 up. Was Bolt’s tactic a wise one? Next, Chris Scott got a valuable draw against Jamie Morgan, playing his first game for Exeter. Then, Oliver Wensley generated enough pressure to cause his opponent to run out of time.

Thus Exmouth had 2.5 point after 3 games, and it seemed highly possible they would be able to get something from the other 3 games to squeeze at least a draw. Then Dave Regis, who had 2 minor pieces for a rook, forced a win, while Bolt found himself in an ending with 2 bishops against 2 knights with a sprinkling of pawns on either side. The bishops found good long diagonals enabling his king to advance, keeping the black knights and king on their back rank, and a win was inevitable. 2.5 all, with former Scottish International, Paul Hampton, locking horns with Paulden, in what for the most part had been a blocked position. However, in seeking active play for his queen, he allowed Regis’ queen in to the centre. With just 2 minutes of extra time left on both clocks, there was a titanic struggle with both queens grabbing any pawn they could get hold of, preferably with check, and Paulden succeeded in this race.

So, with just seconds to go, Exeter took the lead for the first time in the match, and with it the match.

He was born in Tenbury Wells, on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border, and in his youth played in goal for the local football team. He entered the retail business which took him to East Anglia for a spell, before becoming General Manager of Beatties in Wolverhampton, one of the biggest department stores in the West Midlands.

Retirement took him to Newton Poppleford, where he joined the Sidmouth Chess Club, later moving to Exmouth. Although dementia took its toll and he was unable to cope with club life, he maintained contact through near neighburs Fred Hodge and Malcolm Belt, who played chess with him at his home. He had a chess computer on the go in every room of his house. He was a steady player right to the end, with a strong defence that could be difficult to break down.

Having lost one member, we get another in his place. Dave Adams has returned to Exmouth after a spell in Dunbar, on the coast near Edinburgh. Having just moved in to a house in Halsdon Road, he will shortly be treading the relatively short walk to the Club. Short for him, who has walked the Andes from South to North, plus many other paths around the world, playing chess with any other aficianado he might meet on the way. His current grade being, as it ever was, in the mid-130s, he will be a welcome asset to team captains, as the club is short of players of that strength.

Exmouth hosted a team from Newton Abbot for their match in Devon’s 2nd Division, the Mamhead Cup. Losses by Chris Scott and Malcolm Belt were off-set by a well-judged win by team captain, Oliver Wensley, against the highly-experienced Alan Brusey. Alan’s chess has suffered in recent years during a period of ill-health, but he is now back to something like his best. Both players aimed to keep things simple by sweeping almost everything off the board and getting down to a rooks & pawn ending by move 13. However, there is nothing simple about rook & pawn endings; even GMs are prone to errors at this stage of the game, but Oliver judged all the nuances very well and came out the winner.

This left the onus on Meyrick Shaw to try for a win in order the rescue a draw. This involved a 63 move game against an opponent who has, in past matches against Exmouth, proved a cool and resourceful player. However, Meyrick kept the pressure and and eventually ran out the winner.